


I am her fucking father!

by dragonryder94



Series: The Milkovich-Gallagher Family Files [9]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Sick baby, hosptials are dicks, i researched the fuck out of it to make absolutely sure, parent gallavich, this is an actual thing that can happen to same sex couples
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-19 15:30:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2393528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonryder94/pseuds/dragonryder94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A late night trip to the emergency room goes awry when technicalities of genetics get in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I am her fucking father!

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually did some serious research on this subject, since it is such a touchy topic. And this is as accurate as I could make it. Hospitals and other facilities reserve the right to turn away one parent of a same sex couple in the ER and not let them in the room with the child/partner. Which is really fucking awful. Like it's 2014 and we still don't have laws protecting the rights of same sex couples that way? What the fuck. 
> 
> But anyway I hope ya'll enjoy this.

Mickey was awoken by a shrill coughing and wailing come from the baby monitor. Rolling over on the bed he sighed and looked at the soft red glow of the alarm clock. 1:36 AM. Fuck.

The twins were six months old and were pretty good about sleeping for about eight and a half hours on most nights. One of them though, Mickey couldn't tell who through the monitor,  was hell bent on making him come in and check on them. 

Sighing he rolled himself up and grabbed one of Ian's sweaters from the floor. The redhead was at work, bar tending at some stupid trendy club that had opened downtown. It was late nights on the weekends, but the pay was good and the tips were better and they needed the money.

Shuffling into the nursery he saw the Lily was simply laying there, staring up at her mobile, while Maggie was the one who was alternately screaming at the top of her lungs and coughing in a high pitched tone. Eyebrows furrowing he reached into her crib and hoisted her up murmuring,

"What's the matter babygirl? Huh? You're not wet. And Jesus fucking Christ you are burning up." He walked with her to the bathroom and took out the infant thermometer they had in the cabinet and held it to her forehead. It beeped after a few seconds. 102.6 degrees.

Holding her more securely on his shoulder he took a washcloth from the cabinet under the sink and wet it down with cool water before opening her onesie and rubbing it all over her neck and chest. Her screams had quieted until she was simply crying and was still wheezing shrilly in his ear.

Keeping the cool cloth on her he went into the kitchen, picked up the phone and dialed Allison's number. She was their go to babysitter and emergency contact when they needed something. 

Maggie was snuffling pathetically into his neck while he waited for Allison to answer the phone. Because there was no fucking way that he was carting three children all under the age of 10 to the emergency room at 2 o'clock in the morning. He needed her. When he called back a second time she answered and cleared her throat before rasping,

"Yeah?" Mickey patted Maggie's back softly as he said,

"Look I need you to come over and watch the Lily and Ana. Maggie is burning up and Ian is at work. I have to take her to the hospital." Almost instantly he heard Allison moving on the other line as she said,

"Got it, I'll be there in like ten minutes." Mickey hung up the phone and dialed Ian's cell phone. His boyfriend almost always had his cell phone off or on silent when he was at work. And the bar didn't close until 3 in the morning. The most he could hope for was Ian checking his messages when he went on break.

As he readied Maggie in her carrier with her favorite blanket and pacifier he kept sending messages to Ian telling him to call Mickey as soon as he could or to just come straight to the hospital. 

He heard Allison's car pull into the driveway and he was out the door, not stopping as he said,

"Thank you. Lily is in her crib, she should be fine. And Ana is still sleeping. If she wakes up and asks for me you can call my cell." The blonde nodded and went into the house with a sleeping Daniel balanced on her hip. 

Mickey was almost positive that he broke a few traffic laws on his way to the hospital, but to be honest he was not in the mood to give a fuck. His kid had a fever of 103 degrees. 

Walking into the ER lobby he saw that there were only about 3 other people waiting, and that made him feel slightly better about the fact that he would even have to wait at all. 

He signed his name onto the sheet and picked a seat by the window so that he had good cell reception in case Ian decided to check his phone and call him. After about fifteen minutes Maggie started whimpering so he pulled her out of the carrier and laid her on his chest so that he could rub her back.

Half an hour passed and no one had even called his name and well that shit doesn't fucking fly when Mickey Milkovich's kid is sick.

Looking as imposing as someone in sweatpants, an over-sized hoodie, and covered in baby drool can look he stalked to the triage desk and said,

"Uh yeah excuse me. I signed in like half an hour ago. My daughter has a fucking fever and I'd like to get her looked at if you could get your heads out of your asses and do your fucking jobs!"

The nurse at the desk, a middle aged woman with dark curly hair and a name tag reading Melissa, looked up at him and replied,

"Alright I'm gonna have to ask you to just calm down. I need some information first. Your license for one. And what's her name?" Mickey pulled out his ID and handed it to her as he said,

"Her name is Magnolia Gallagher. She was born here. Got all her shots here. You guys should have everything on file for her in the computer." Melissa looked at the ID he handed her before squinting at the computer screen and then back at Mickey. Raising an eyebrow she said,

"We only allow parents in the rooms with minors. And Mykola Milkovich isn't the name on her birth certificate. Ian Gallagher is." Mickey sighed before replying,

"Yeah. That's my partner's name. He's her biological father." The nurse handed him back the card and looked pained as she said,

"I can take her in the back and have the doctor look at her now. But...but you can't come with her." Mickey made a face even as he handed Maggie over to the nurse asking,

"What...what the fuck do you mean I can't come back with her?" Melissa took a deep breath and said,

"I can't let anyone but her mother or father in the room with her." Eyebrows furrowing angrily the man snarled,

"I am her fucking father! Look my boyfriend is at work and his phone is probably off so I have no idea when he's going to get here. Please, just let me in the back with her." She shook her head and said sadly,

"I'm sorry sir, but I legally can't allow you back there. I'm going to take her and have Dr. McArthur look at her. And as soon as I know anything I'll inform you, okay?" Mickey took a shuddering breath in through his nose but nodded, leaning in to kiss Maggie's forehead and handing Melissa the fuzzy purple blanket with stars on it as he said,

"It's uh...it's her favorite blanket. She'll feel better if she has it with her." Melissa nodded and walked with the girl through the double doors, leaving Mickey standing there with her carrying seat while he stared at the spot they had disappeared into.

He shot off another message to Ian and went back to his seat at the window. Allison had sent him a picture message of Ana curled up in his bed with Lily and Daniel next to her and he smiled before telling her that Maggie was getting treated. He left out the fact that he wasn't being allowed in the room because he knew that Allison would bring a shitstorm down on the hospital the likes of which they had never seen and he was too tired to deal with that right now.  

Leaning back he rested his head against the wall and shut his eyes, trying to relax as much as he could given the current situation. From the backroom he heard Maggie's high pitched wailing start up again as well as that awful barking cough and he clenched his fists as he tried to keep himself in control of his emotions.

Melissa came through the doors, sans Maggie, and called out for him. He jumped up and she started,

"Well her fever is still at 103, so we've got cool packs on her right now. She didn't like that, and she started crying again. The doctor thinks it might be croup. So she's gonna give her some steroids and see if that helps her breathe a little bit easier. Do you know if your boyfriend is on his way?" Mickey shook his head,

"Nah. He still hasn't called me back. But he might just be on his way here. She has her blanket, right?" Melissa nodded and patted his shoulder softly before going back behind the triage desk. Mickey sighed and went back to his chair and resumed his position. Nearly half an hour passed before the entrance doors burst open and Ian came through them looking around for Mickey.

As he jogged over he said,

"Jesus Christ Mick I got your calls and texts. What the fuck is going on?" Mickey rubbed his eyes as he stood and yawned. Looking at his phone he saw that it was nearing 3:20 AM. The redhead in front of him was still wearing his work clothes, tight black jeans and an equally tight t-shirt and looked distraught. Clearing his throat and accepting the coffee that had somehow magically appeared from Ian's hand he explained,

"Maggie woke me up. She was coughing really bad and crying and had a fever. So I brought her here. But these fucks wouldn't let me back with her because...because I'm not her biological father."

Ian's face clouded and he turned and stalked up to the triage desk. Whipping his license out he said in a deathly calm voice,

"Ian Gallagher. You admitted my daughter, Magnolia Gallagher about an hour ago. I want to see her. _We_ want to see her." Melissa looked up and saw Mickey standing behind Ian and she nodded. Tapping a few keys on her keyboard she said,

"I am sorry. I couldn't let your boyfriend back with her. It's policy." Ian snapped his wallet shut and shoved it in his pocket as he replied,

"Yeah, okay, whatever. Can we please go see our daughter now?" Melissa nodded and Mickey could have kissed her. He knew that he hadn't been the most pleasant person to deal with during the whole ordeal, but she had done what she could and he was grateful for that. 

They followed her into the back, where Maggie was laying in a room with the curtain partially drawn. They had taken off her onsie and left her in her diaper as she lay in the little crib. A breathing mask covered her nose and mouth and her little chest was moving up and down frantically as she inhaled the medication.

Melissa flipped through her folder and said,

"The doctor is giving her a steroid through the breathing mask to help with the inflammation in her lungs and bronchial airways. Dr McArthur confirmed that it is croup. Nothing we can't handle, but it is scary to hear in the middle of the night and you were smart to bring her in. We'll keep her for another few hours to get some more steroids into her, and then we'll send you home with an antibiotics, an inhaler, and a spacer. I'll leave you guys alone now."

She pulled the curtain across the room fully and left the room. Mickey sat down next to the crib and held onto Maggie's hand like it was his lifeline. Ian watched him with soft eyes and waited for him to speak. 

Taking a shuddering breath Mickey looked up at the redhead and said,

"Ian this can't happen again. I...I was losing my mind when they told me I couldn't come back with her." His eyes were wet and he broke Ian's gaze to look back at Maggie once more, stroking her hand softly with his pinky. The redhead moved to stand next to his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and saying softly,

"How can I promise you that it won't happen again Mick? With the hours that I'm working if something like this happens again it'll almost definitely be you that takes one of the kids to the ER. The only way would be..." He broke off and looked away. He and Mickey had been together for nearly ten years since the very beginning, and had been fully committed for the part six when Ian came back from the Army and Ana was born.

But never once had the topic of marriage come up. Sure Ian wanted to marry the other man. He knew that Mickey was the only person he would ever love for the rest of his life when he was sixteen. But he knew what marriage meant to Mickey, especially after the shitshow that had been the Svetlana situation.

Looking down at his boyfriend, his partner of nearly a decade, he knew that it was time and if Mickey said 'no' then they would work through it like they had everything else. He pulled away from Mickey and walked over to where his work duffel was resting on the floor. After rummaging around in it for a minute he found the little black box he was looking for and he stood slowly.

The other man didn't seem to have noticed the fact that he had even moved, he was so engrossed with watching Maggie breath. Taking a deep breath the redhead came back over and handed Mickey the box as he said,

"Mick the only way I can promise that this won't happen again is if...." Mickey looked in the box, at the two plain gold bands and then looked up at Ian. The redhead looked away and continued,

"If we were married then you would have legal guardianship of the girls. And I would have legal guardianship of Ana. We could make decisions for them without the stupid genetics getting in the way of us being their parents. So what'd you say?" Mickey looked at the rings for a moment longer before snapping the box shut and rubbing his eyes. Looking up at Ian he murmured,

"You wanna marry _me_? Seriously man?" Ian hated that even after six years of commitment there were still traces of doubt in Mickey's voice when he spoke about their relationship. Taking the older man's hand in his own he brought it up and kissed the tattooed knuckles softly before whispering,

"I've wanted to marry you since I was sixteen Mick. We have a house. We pay bills together. We have three daughters. The only thing stopping us from being actually married is a legally binding piece of paper." Mickey smirked and opened the box again to look at the rings. Snorting he joked,

"Man how fucking long have you been carrying these rings around with you?" Ian blushed and said nothing. But when Mickey took the slightly smaller ring and slipped it onto the fourth finger of his left hand he smiled so wide it could have been seen from fucking space. His hands cupped both of Mickey's cheeks as he pressed their lips together, happiness seeping into the kiss and making it sweeter. 

After the pulled apart Ian smile grew bigger, if possible, as he asked,

"You know what this means right?" After Mickey shook his head the other man chuckled quietly and said,

"We're getting married. So that means we get a honeymoon. A honeymoon that will be at least 5 days long, away from the kids, and if I've got my way about it then we won't be wearing clothes the entire time. How does that sound?" Mickey grinned and said nothing, only held onto Ian's hand tighter.

The hospital kept Maggie for another hour and a half before letting them go home. Allison was asleep in their bed with the kids when they finally walked through the front door at 6 in the morning.

Mickey took Maggie and laid on the couch with her on his chest, a hand protectively curled around her back. Ian made sure to snap a few pictures on his phone before he himself fell asleep in the recliner next to Mickey's head. He was almost asleep when Mickey's hand not occupied by the baby snaked up to hold his. The other man hadn't taken his ring off since he put it on it at the hospital and it made Ian very tingly inside to feel the warm metal of the ring pressed against his fingers where their hands were joined.

He was sure that the family would want to know as soon as possible that Mickey and him were engaged, but it didn't really feel like a change to either of them. It was just another chapter in their life. But that could wait until later, after the three of them got some rest. 

**Author's Note:**

> hahaha i'm so shitty at ending these things. stalk me at second-rate-handjobs.tumblr.com


End file.
